Over €560k investment in Kildare's rural roads and laneways

Local Fianna Fail Minister James Lawless TD has welcomed the announcement today (August 7) from the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary, T.D., of a further €14 million investment in our national rural roads and laneways.

Minister Lawless said: “The allocation represents a significant increase to the 2025 funding available under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) – bringing the overall investment to a record €30 million for the year.

“The Local Improvement Scheme is designed to support the continued improvement of non-public roads in rural communities and improves access to rural homes and farms, as well as outdoor amenities such as our lakes, rivers, mountains and beaches.

“These roads and laneways are not normally maintained by local authorities, however they represent a vital piece of infrastructure for rural residents. The allocation of additional funding comes following engagement between the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and local authorities.

“The total allocation for 2025 under this scheme for Kildare is €566,862.

“The county allocations are based on the level of works that each local authority indicated they could complete before the end of the year and represent the Minister’s commitment to increasing funding for our rural roads.

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“The LIS scheme was re-introduced in 2017 and to date, over 20,000 landowners and rural residents have benefitted, with over 4,800 roads upgraded under the Scheme. Under LIS, local authorities are responsible for identifying and prioritising roads for improvement works under the scheme, in consultation with residents/landowners and he works must be completed before the end of the year.”